At long last the winds have finally begun to settle, and not before time. From an angling perspective, this period of relative stability is certainly most welcome, with areas outside the estuaries now able to be fished in a degree of comfort, with angling across the board seeing more consistent results. From this point onwards our summer angling season should hopefully begin to really fire up.

In the estuary, flathead are again the best bet although you may have to contend with plenty of juveniles who seem particularly ravenous at present. Along with the flatties, some nice school mulloway have been snared around the highway bridges and up the Maria, whilst increasing numbers of whiting have been taken from around the Back Channel, Blackmans Point and Big Bay. Lake Cathie has also been producing some terrific whiting despite the system being closed, with surface lures responsible for the better action. If lures aren’t your thing, beach worms, yabbies and of course live prawns will all produce fish. On the prawning scene at Lake Cathie, this recent dark saw results somewhat down from that evident a month ago. Hopefully some warmer weather over the next few weeks will see an improvement in time for Xmas.

On the beaches, with conditions now more sedate, results have improved over the past week. Both North beach and Lighthouse have both been producing some nice whiting and a few better than average late season bream. Those fishing the evening sessions continue to find school mulloway, with pretty well all stretches of sand holding fish in varying degrees. Live worms and whole squid have both been effective, although don’t be afraid to throw a juicy fillet of tailor if you can procure a fresh one or two. On the subject of tailor, numbers however remain a little inconsistent, although if you can find the baitfish and the terns that shadow them, tailor will not be far away.

Off the rocks, results have been a little quiet, however those chasing blackfish on cabbage still report some nice bronzies and the odd drummer still inhabiting the washes around Port. Unfortunately, most of the drummer encounters on blackfish gear have generally not ended well. Bream numbers have been reasonable, primarily after dark with bream and mullet fillets working well. On the tailor front, Diamond Head and Big Hill have both been worth a look however the average size has only been in the chopper class.

Offshore, at last we are seeing more civilized conditions which is a welcome change. Those who have ventured out continue to score good numbers of snapper and a few nice pearl perch from the reefs in around 40 meters off both Port and Plomer, while trag rock and the reefs slightly wider are still holding some terrific kingfish. On the pelagic front, marlin activity has certainly started with a terrific 170kg blue caught last weekend, while the FAD has already begun to hold some reasonable mahi mahi.